Born in South Boston
Oct.28,1868, James Brendan Connolly was the 6th son of John Connolly
and Ann O’Donnell from the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. At the
age of 27 their son gave them a great sense of pride when he entered Harvard to
study engineering. Although his formal education had not advanced beyond grade
school, he tutored himself so well that Harvard accepted him as a freshman in
1895. Less than a year later, he dashed their high hopes by storming out of the
university in a fit of pique. Education at a great academic institution was
being tossed aside simply because he wanted to dart off for a couple of months
on a crackpot adventure several thousand miles away.

His parents tried to
dissuade him, but nothing would change his mind. So intent was he on competing
at the revival of the ancient Olympic Games that he was prepared to travel to
Athens at his own expense.

Before he learned of the
Olympics, Connolly had proven himself a hard worker. He had set his heart on
making enough money to study engineering at Harvard. So he worked on a harbor
development project in Savannah, Georgia. Connolly supplemented his earnings by
doing sports reporting for the Savannah Lamplight. He also captained the
Savannah football team and helped the Suffolk athletic club from South Boston to
win the United States amateur athletic championship. He himself won the national
hop, step and jump title, later called the triple jump.

Some years previously he
had read Chapman’s translation of Homer, and this led him to hope that someday
he would visit Greece. This hope grew into a fixation the more he learned of the
efforts of Baron de Coubertin to revive the Olympic Games of Ancient Greece.
When this nobleman invited the youth of the world to Athens in 1896 to compete
against each other in a spirit of friendly rivalry, Connolly decided that this
opportunity to participate in the Olympic Games was one not to be missed, so he
left Harvard.

He and the other American
athletes arrived in Athens thinking they would have 12 days to practice. To
their dismay, they learned that the Greeks had their own calendar and that the
first Olympic Games of the modern era would be formally opened the next day.
Even worse from Connolly’s viewpoint, was the news that immediately after the
opening ceremony, his event, the triple jump, would commence the Games. The next
day, the entrants were informed of the order in which they were to compete, and
Connolly was the last on the list. So, when it came to his final attempt, he
knew that unless he produced an exceptional final effort, first place would go
to a Frenchman, Alexandre Tuffere, who had cleared 41’8”.

Another athlete may have
choked under the pressure, but Connolly remained cool. As he himself later
remarked, “I was standing between Prince George (later King George V) of England
and Prince George of Greece, and the personal magnetism of these two gentlemen
was so strong that I said, “Here’s to the honor of County Galway!” and I
jumped.”

Before he actually
jumped,he strode up to Tuffere”s mark and threw a cap a yard beyond it. This was
a brazen thing to do in front of royalty and a packed stadium, but Connolly had
not come so far nor endured so much to simply give a good account of himself. He
walked back to his starting line, raced down the track and launched himself out
to within a ¼ inch of 45 feet. James Brendan Connolly had become the first
Olympic champion since Barasdates of Armenia won the boxing in 369 A.D.

After the Games, Connolly
pursued a successful career as a writer back in the United States. He had found
his vocation, writing stories about fishermen,boats and the sea. Story after
story flowed from his pen as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

In 1904, he married
Elizabeth Frances Hurley, and they had one child, Brenda. James Brendan Connolly
died on Jan. 20, 1957, at the age of 88.

During his lifetime
Connolly received many awards. Harvard offered him an honorary degree but , with
his Irish dander still up, he refused it. However, in 1949, he returned to
Harvard for a reunion of the class of 1899 with whom he would have graduated had
he not gone to Athens.

Possibly the greatest
tribute to Connolly came from Theodore Roosevelt who became impressed, not only
with his writing, but with the man himself. The President said,”If I were to
pick one man for my sons to pattern their lives after, I would choose Jim
Connolly.”

This article was condensed from
John Berkery’s story in June/July issue of Irish-America magazine by Larry
McGrath